Sodium content of protein food supplements: a labeling analysis

Supplementation companies have put in their formulas a variety of vitamins and minerals, with allegation of performance improvement. Among these, we have sodium that has important metabolic functions in the practice of physical activity. However, its excessive consumption is closely related to chronic noncommunicable diseases. The objective of this research was to verify the sodium concentrations in protein dietary supplements from the nutritional information of the labels. It is a quantitative, exploratory and descriptive study. It were evaluated 58 protein supplements labels for athletes regarding sodium contents, establishing a standard portion of 30 grams for the analyzes. The most of the supplement samples were Whey Protein Mix (47%; n = 27). There was no uniformity of sodium contents added to protein supplements, in which 57% (n = 33) had a sodium content in the range from 51 to 100 mg per serving, 24.1% (n = 14) and 3.4% (n = 2) were in the range of 101 to 150 mg and 251 to 300 mg, respectively. Considering the daily recommendation of mineral intake (2,000 mg), the intake of supplements with high concentrations for prolonged periods is worrisome, which is aggravated by consumption higher than the recommended portion in the packaging and association of use with other supplements. Thus, it was concluded that it is interesting to implement measures that stipulate the minimum and maximum quantities of this nutrient in the supplements, for standardization in the formulation of this type of product; besides stimulating the conscious use of these, by means of prudent and adequate prescription by a qualified professional.